Thursday, July 08, 2010

The top four photos are from Texas Machinist (who has his own site at Texas Machinist, naturally) and writes:

"This was a sword [my father] got in combat. I don't remember what island but the officer was leading his men with a Nambu in his right hand and the sword in his left. One of my father[']s friend[s] knew how to take off the handle and read the date and family name on the shank. It seems an odd length, shorter than a katana but not as short as the normal short sword. I know many were shortened for later military use but I have no idea on this one. The blade is mirror like and the edge is sharp."

These two are mine, of a gunto, a machine-made but still very good sword, that has decorated my daughter's playroom since she was born.
(Some Greek parents put a knife under their babies' cribs as a charm against evil. That's not why I did it.)

As always, click to embigen.

UPDATE: Saber, also from Texas Machinist
Note the Western design with the chrysanthemum decoration on the hilt.

That makes sense. Safe gun handling does seem important though, even if she has no interest in them. I learned to handle the 1911 long before I was allowed to shoot it. The gun was kept loaded in the home and my father wanted no accidents, so we all learned young.

He also insisted we be able to swim. He did not care about form or speed but we had to be able to swim as long as might be needed to get to safety.